Scotty Campbell
Scotty Campbell (born September 26, 1988) is a former Victory Hockey League (VHL) player who spent eight seasons in the league between S1 - S8, beginning his first season at Age 19. Campbell was selected 2nd Overall by Vasteras IK in the Inaguaral VHL Dispersal Draft, and went on to become arguably the most decorated VHL player in history. Campbell retired from the VHL after a playing career that spanned eight seasons, and included stops with four different VHL franchises. Campbell's career is highlighted as being the all-time VHL leader in goals, assists and points as well as being a three time Continental Cup Champion. Before the VHL Campbell declared for the S1 VHL Dispersal Draft, before the league included it's VHLM Developmental League. After being selected 2nd Overall by Vasteras, Campbell made his debut with the squad in the inaguaral VHL season. VHL Career 'S1' Campbell's first season in the VHL was a memorable one, as it was the beginning's of one of the VHL's great invidiaul rivalries. Throughout the entire season, Campbell was in competition with Calgary's Brett Slobodzian as each vyed to the claim as the VHL's top offensive player. Despite putting up 74 goals and 135 points, Campbell was out paced by Slobodzian who led the league in goals, assists and points as Calgary maintained a torrid pace the entire season. Despite being underdogs, Vasteras went on to upset Calgary in six games to be the VHL's first league champion. Campbell won the Messier Trophy and Francis Trophy and was named an EuropeanConference All-Star that year. 'S2' Expecations were high for Campbell in S2 and he lived up to the hype with a 161 point season that included 79 goals, both tops in the league. Campbell went on to win the Lemieux Trophy and Joe Malone Trophy, but the playoff success from a season before eluded Vasteras as the shoe was on the other foot when Calgary knocked off Vasteras in a Continental Cup Final repeat matchup. 'S3' His third season was the worst of his tenure in Vasteras as Campbell put up his lowest goal output to date with 70 goals and saw an overall dip in point production to 140 points. Despite a bit of an off-season, Vasteras still went into the playoffs as the top seed in the European Conference, but were eventually defeated in what is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in league history as they were ousted by the upstart Helsinki Titans in a dramatic seven game series. 'S4' The landscape of the VHL was dramatically altered in S4 when the rising Seattle Bears pulled off a blockbuster deal to acquire Campbell and Matt Defosse from Vasteras in an attempt to assert themselves as a power in the North American Conference. The move paid major dividends as Campbell put up his most productive season to date with 87 goals and 87 assists for 174 points. He went on to become the league's MVP in S4 and carried over his dominance to the playoffs, where he recorded 23 points in only 11 games, being named the playoff MVP and leading the Bears to their first Continental Cup Championship. 'S5' The Bears were favourites to repeat as Continental Cup Champions in S5, and they were able to do so pretty easily with arguably one of the most talented rosters in VHL history. Campbell had the best season of his career in S5, putting up career highs of 89 goals, 101 assists and 190 points, easily pacing himself to his second straight league MVP. He elevated his game again in the playoffs, registering 30 points in only 11 games as Seattle repeated as league champions. 'S6' Expectations were high again in S6 for the Bears, who had the chance for the league's first three-peat. Things were promising early on, and Campbell scored 104 points through his first 46 games, but towards the deadline, the Bears elected to re-tool their team with some younger players, prompting them to move Campbell to Helsinki, who were loading up for a run at the cup. Campbell's pace slowed down with the Titans, and went on to finish the year with 155 points and a career low 68 goals. Despite that, Campbell potted 21 points in the playoffs and went on to win his fourth Continental Cup Championship with the Titans. 'S7' Being a free agent for the first time in his career, Campbell went on to sign with the Toronto Legion, who were struggling to find an identity and were considered to be the VHL's most unstable franchise. He enjoyed a productive season with 73 goals and 146 points, winning his third league MVP, and helped the Legion back into the playoffs, where they were eventually defeated by the Calgary Wranglers in a bitter seven game series. 'S8' Campbell's last season in the league saw his first real significant dip in stats, as he only managed 60 goals and 138 points. In mostly a mentoring role, Campbell once again was a fixture in the playoffs as the Legion matched up with the Wranglers once again, but Campbell's squad was taken down in six games, despite putting up 12 points in the series. Awards *'Continental Cup' | S1 - Vasteras IK, S4 - Seattle Bears, S5 - Seattle Bears, S6 - Helsinki Titans *'Gretzky Trophy' | S4 - Seattle Bears, S5 - Seattle Bears, S7 - Toronto Legion *'Howe Trophy' | S4 - Seattle Bears, S5 - Seattle Bears *'Lemieux Trophy' | S2 - Vasteras IK, S4 - Seattle Bears, S5 - Seattle Bears, S6 - Seattle Bears/Helsinki Titans, S7 - Toronto Legion *'Joe Malone Trophy' | S2 - Vasteras IK, S4 - Seattle Bears, S5 - Seattle Bears, S7 - Toronto Legion *'Mikita Trophy' | S4 - Seattle Bears, S6 - Seattle Bears/Helsinki Titans *'Francis Trophy' | S1 - Vasteras IK, S8 - Toronto Legion *'Messier Trophy' | S1 - Vasteras IK *'Victory Cup' | S2 - Vasteras IK, S4 - Seattle Bears, S5 - Seattle Bears, S6 - Helsinki Titans *'Punch Imlach Trophy' | S4 - Seattle Bears, S5 - Seattle Bears *'Vladimir Kostka Trophy' | S1 - Vasteras IK, S2 - Vasteras IK, S6 - Helsinki Titans *'European Conference All-Star' | S1 - Vasteras IK, S2 - Vasteras IK, S3 - Vasteras IK, S6 - Helsinki Titans *'North American Conference All-Star' | S4 - Seattle Bears, S5 - Seattle Bears, S7 - Toronto Legion, S8 - Toronto Legion International Career Campbell was arguably the most productive player in VHL International Competition during his career. Representing Switzerland on three separate occassions, Campbell recorded 21 goals and 57 points in only 18 games of international competition. He was one of the members of some of the great early Swiss VHL players, and while they only managed one gold medal in the first three tournaments, their play gave rise to a generation of Swiss star players in the VHL. Retirement Campbell retired from the VHL following the conclusion of the S8 VHL Regular Season. His career was illustrious, and while he can be considered one of the builders of the VHL, the competition between him and other VHL stars of the early era paved the way to establish what is now a significantly better league today. Transactions History 'Contracts' Season 1 - S. Campbell signs a 5 year, $27.5 Million Dollar Contract with Vasteras Season 7 - S. Campbell signs a 2 year, $6.6 Million Dollar Contract with a No Trade Clause with Toronto as a Free Agent 'Trades' February 4th, 2008 - Vasteras trades Scotty Campbell & Matt Defosse to Seattle in exchange for Mike Szatkowski, Brannan Anthony, Cody Banks and Seattle's first round pick in S5. July 30th, 2008 - Seattle trades Scotty Campbell to Helsinki in exchange for Andrei Dubnikov and Helsinki's first round pick in S8. Career Statistics 'Regular Season Statistics' 'Playoff Statistics' 'International Statistics'